Taking over the Abyss

33- Release the Kraken

a/n: osial in the next chapter ;)

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By the time you made it back to Liyue Harbor, you'd overheard talk of a recent competition that the Tianquan was holding. Knowing what that meant, you sighed. One thing after another, huh? Reluctantly, you accepted that this was happening now but continued to wander around the city miserably.

Hearing a distant sounding Paimon shouting your name in the distance, you stopped in your tracks and turned around. Paimon blitzed towards you, with Aether and Shenhe trailing after her. Failing to stop herself in time, Paimon ended up crash landing straight against your face. The fairy was promptly peeled off of your face by Aether, who let her dangle by the cape. Rubbing your nose to make sure Paimon didn't smash your face, you sighed in relief at the sight of no blood.

Aether looked like he wanted to ask twenty questions at once, but struggled to get a single one out. Shenhe looked between the two of you, trying to see if you knew each other at all. Eventually, Aether managed to choke out, "How...?"

"I, uh, fell into Albedo and Klee's house," you explained, refusing to elaborate past a quick, "They were cool with it."

Aether paid no mind to your antics, "And Lumine?"

"Didn't see her, no. That Herald tackled the hell out of me, and inside of that portal is super disorienting," you watched as his shoulders slumped, "I don't know where Dain went off to either."

"Oh..." Aether stood there, dejected. Unsure how to comfort him, you looked to Paimon for help. Luckily, Aether perked back up again, bottling up his emotions in a totally healthy way, "W- well, at least we learned a lot."

"Yeah," you agreed. Swiftly, you changed the subject to avoid things from getting any worse, "So, whatcha up to now? I see you've met my good friend Shenhe."

Shenhe, having not intruded out of respect, nodded, "Yes. I have agreed to help them crush the competition."

"It sounds so violent when you put it like that," Paimon commented, freeing herself from Aether's hold. She shook off any remaining dizziness before gasping, "Wait, how do you know Shenhe?!"

"(Name) is my friend. She has been staying with my Master in Mt. Aocang," Shenhe explained. She turned to you, "Would you like to join us?"

You thought for a moment, then remembered your agreement with Ningguang, "There's something I have to handle with the Qixing, so don't let me hold you up."

You doubted that any of them could suspect anything along the lines of 'giant sea monster attack' from that, so you were fine. Hopefully. As long Paimon didn't let her imagination run too wild. Saying your goodbyes, you left the trio to go interrogate Xingqiu for answers to try and find Ningguang. Hopefully whatever help you'd have to give wasn't absurdly demanding.

It seemed like a lot of people were participating, because there was even more hustling around than usual. Upon reaching Yujing Terrace, you spotted Ningguang in the distance speaking to her three assistants. The three quickly hurried off, no doubt preparing for the whole Beisht mess. Out of the corner of her eye, Ningguang spotted you and gestured you come closer.

Once you were close enough, she began to speak, "You have impeccable timing, I was about to send somebody looking for you."

"I'm guessing you're putting the plan into action?" You asked rhetorically, not caring if anybody was listening. Not like they'd be able to discern what you meant by that, anyway.

"We've run out of time to wait any longer, I'm afraid," Ningguang's pleasant business smile faded into a more genuine, albeit slightly worried one, "How have things been on your side?"